BOSTON – Once again, the bench was huge for the Nets. And once again, Marcus Williams was huge off the bench.

Williams scored 17 points – his seventh double-figure game in 10 outings – as the Nets won a second straight game (92-78 over the Celtics) both on the road.

“I was just trying to take what the defense gave me,” said Williams, who delivered 11 of his points in the fourth quarter. “I was letting the defender make the decision for me. So I was looking to hit the big man, if not, just taking it all the way.”

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The magic number for the Nets, in Jason Kidd‘s mind, is five – as in don’t fall more than five games out of first place.

“Any time you start getting over five [games out], it’s hard to try to pass a team,” Kidd said. “We’re at 3½ (behind the Raptors in the Atlantic Division), so hopefully we could get it down to one or be even going into the All-Star break. . . . You start really looking [at the race] probably after the All-Star break. Maybe right before, then right after.”

The Nets and Raptors both won last night. The Nets are one-half game behind Miami for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

“As bad as we feel our record is, we’re still right there to make the playoffs,” Kidd said.

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Richard Jefferson (ankle surgery), off crutches and with stitches removed, is rehabbing with therapist Matt Gibble, the same guy who worked with Kidd after knee surgery. “The pool will be the next step,” Lawrence Frank said.

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Vince Carter, a former slam-dunk champ, is one of the judges for this year’s Feb. 18 event. To those competing, want to know how to win?

“Make me jump out of my seat,” Carter said.

“That was my goal, to impress a judge,” Carter said. “I think you can always sway a judge if you can make him jump out of his seat because if he’s like, ‘Whoa,’ he forgets and the first thing he’s looking for is a 10. That’s how I see it and that’s what I’m looking for.”

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Mikki Moore (11 points) had a career-high nine free throws made, tying his career high for attempts with 10. . . . The Nets are home tonight against Orlando, their fifth game in seven nights.

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The NBA record for the most consecutive losses is 24 by the Cavaliers in a two-season stretch. The most in a one-season stretch was 23 by Denver (1997-98) and Vancouver (1995-96).